Cumberland Sauce

Have you ever heard of Cumberland Sauce? To be honest, neither had I until I decided to teach myself how to prepare goose.

Cumberland Sauce is a fruity, vinegar based sauce perfect for dressing goose, venison, lamb and pork. It can be made ahead and is freezer friendly!

So what is Cumberland Sauce? Traditionally, Cumberland Sauce is a sweet, fruit-based sauce served with non-white game, like goose, venison or lamb. These types of meat have the potential to have a “gamey” taste and Cumberland Sauce, with its zingy and sweet flavor, helps to cut right through that.

It is also served chilled, so it is ideal for making ahead of time and is even freezer friendly.

Despite being born in Germany, Cumberland Sauce is now a frequent condiment in England and usually made with currants or cowberries. I didn’t have any cowberries at my disposal, so I modeled my Americanized version after the famous Wort Hotel in Wyoming’s recipe, by using red currant jelly.

Port wine and orange juice also act as the fruit, while shallots and vinegar add the pizzazz Cumberland Sauce is known for.

I found their recipe to be a little loose for my taste, I vamped mine up by thickening with cornstarch, allowing it to stick to my goose a little better. I also felt that the addition of sea salt brightened the flavors.

One thing I would suggest is using fresh orange juice. While it is tempting to just buy a jug, citrus juices start losing their potency only 8 hours after being juiced. While this is fine for drinking straight, in cooking the full effect is best, so I highly suggest using fresh oranges.

In a medium saucepan, combine beef stock through orange zest. Bring to a boil, cook until reduced by 2/3, about 25 minutes.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve and return to sauce pan over low heat. Remove 1/4 cup of sauce and whisk with corn starch until smooth and then slowly whisk back into sauce pan. Stir in fine sea salt.